Kid Rock Drops F-Bomb, Storms Offstage at Bon Jovi’s Nashville Bar Because Crowd Didn’t Clap Enough: ‘I’m Gone’

Kid Rock Storms Off Stage in Tantrum, Blames Audience for Not Clapping

Kid Rock is known for speaking his mind — even when he’s in the middle of performing.

The “All Summer Long” singer, 54, briefly joined Bon Jovi rocker David Bryan in a birthday celebration in Nashville on Saturday, Feb. 8, but left the stage before finishing his song after repeatedly chastising the crowd for not clapping.

Keyboardist Bryan turned 63 on Feb. 7, and celebrated with a party and performance at JBJ’s Nashville, the venue owned by bandmate Jon Bon Jovi.

Rock joined the musician onstage in a surprise appearance, and was welcomed with applause as he started singing “Proud Mary” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, according to fan video shared to social media.

All went well until about two minutes into the performance, when Rock stopped singing, asked the band to pause and encouraged the crowd to clap, even demonstrating to them how he wanted them to do it.

Kid Rock

“F— them. F— them. Hey, hey, stop,” he said, according to the video. “If you ain’t gonna clap, we ain’t gonna sing. That’s how it’s gonna go.”

The fans started clapping, and Rock began singing again. About a minute later, he stopped once more.

“You know what, f— y’all. You ain’t gonna clap, I’m gone,” he said, before abruptly leaving the stage.

Video shows Bryan making a confused hand gesture before speaking with another bandmate as Rock walks off.

A rep for Rock did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.


Still, the musician enjoyed his party, as he later posted video to Instagram with the caption, “THANK YOU FOR THE BIRTHDAY WISHES! Rocking at @jbjsnash last night with @bigkennytv!”

The Grammy-nominated Rock is fresh off a performance at the Make America Great Again Victory Rally, which celebrated the inauguration of President Donald Trump in late January. Other performers included Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, the Village People and Billy Ray Cyrus.

In an interview with ABC News, Rock said he and the president were similar in that they both want what’s best for the country. He previously joked that Trump had appointed him “Head of the Liquor Cabinet.”

“I’m a person that likes to win. I don’t sugarcoat things,” he said. “I call it like I see it. Sometimes I might not get it absolutely correct. I’m a man with forgiveness in my heart.”

The rocker is set to kick off a new tour in March. His most recent album, Bad Reputation, came out in 2022